I cant figure this out! 1.018!!!!!!

[lil.guppy]

Ok so I set my 46g
I have a 3 gallon bucket. I put 2 gallons in the bucket at a time and measured the salt in those 2 gallons with my hydrometer. Then I poured it into the tank. Well my tank is reading 1.018 but my problem is that there is no more room for water in the tank. Its at its max.
Soooo what do I do to raise the level of salt in the tank?
Any hints or tricks?

[Ninong]

What's in the tank right now besides saltwater?

Assuming you have no livestock in the tank, then just remove a couple gallons with your handy bucket and add 1/2 cup of salt to the bucket. Stir with a large wooden spoon (or whatever) for a couple minutes and then pour into the tank. Repeat this process five more times and then check the specific gravity of the water in your tank. You want it somewhere between 1.024-1.026. If you have live rock in your tank, then it might be better to wait half an hour between each addition.

If your tank is completely bare -- meaning no sand bed and no live rock -- then you can simply add the salt directly to the tank, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition.

[Doodaa]

A refractometer is better at measuring salinity for accuracy. Is this a new setup with nothing in it yet? If so, drain a few gallons in a bucket, add the salt, then dump it back in. Make sure to let it all dissolve completely and then check salinity before adding more.

If you have livestock in the tank already, then you'll have to mix a fresh batch up a few points stronger than your goal (say 1.030 to 1.040) and drain the same amount from your tank to replace it with and I'd only do 2 gallons at a time.

[james_r_edwards34]

You can syphon the water back into the bucket and continue raising the salinity in the bucket. You may have to do this several times to get the desired level of salinity. You may also want to invest in a refractometer to measure salinity. Not a big price but you can find a decent for around 60 bucks. Hope this helps. James

[tholleyh46]

Oh, how I miss living in San Diego near the free spicket of fresh filtered sea water at Scripps in La Jolla! Mixing synthetic sea salt is a pain, it dissolves very slowly. Sounds like you're just getting started so the above is good advice. For the future I'd recommend getting a large trash can to place in your garage, laundry room, or whatever has room and premix your salt there, add the salt slowly and use about a 4 foot piece of 1/2" PVC pipe (an oar, whatever) to stir it well. Add a powerhead for a lil flow and maybe a heater depending upon the temperature in the room and always have some at the ready, this way you're never in much of a hurry to mix it and can take your time getting the salinity up there. I also have three of those 7-gallon SW containers that I put RO/DI water in for topping off, evaporation.